Proposed Law Would Ban Smoking In Cars Carrying Young Children

Connecticut should declare that cars become "no smoking" zones when youngsters are along for the ride, says 16-year-old Justin Kvadas.

"Children who are trapped in a car with a parent who smokes don't know what the secondhand smoke is doing to them," Kvadas testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.

The East Hartford teenager wants Connecticut to outlaw smoking in cars where children are passengers, and he wasn't the only young person campaigning for the proposed law Wednesday.

The bill, HB 5380, would ban anyone from smoking in a car when a child younger than 7 is a passenger. Rep. Henry Genga, D-East Hartford, calls it a matter of public health, and 29 other lawmakers have signed onto his proposal.

Skeptical legislators, though, question whether Connecticut should be in the business of regulating what people do in their own cars.

"How do we legislate parental responsibility while cigarettes continue to be legally purchased?" Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, asked during the transportation committee's hearing.

"Would you support banning it in someone's home, as well? Is the car an extension of someone's home? To me, the biggest obstacle is, 'is government reaching too far into our personal lives?'"

Advocates say there's already precedent for regulating behavior in cars, since Connecticut bars drivers from drinking, texting or making phone calls while behind the wheel.

"Your vehicle is on a public road. If it's at your home, this wouldn't apply," said Genga, who noted that the state association of police chiefs supports the bill. "If it's on your private property, this wouldn't apply — but if it's on a public thoroughfare, it would apply."

If Genga's bill becomes law, police wouldn't stop drivers for violations. Instead, they'd issue tickets to drivers who've been pulled over for other reasons. The bill would create a grace year when police would issue only warnings, said Genga, who emphasized that the goal is to stop drivers from smoking when children are in the car — not to issue tickets.

California, Maine, Louisiana and Arkansas already have similar laws, Genga noted. Utah and Washington are considering bills this year; a measure in Virginia died in committee earlier this week.

Before the Connecticut bill can reach a General Assembly vote, it would need the transportation committee's support. Committee Cochairman Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, has signed on as a co-sponsor."

"I'm a convert. The scope of this is limited enough," Maynard said. "If we're going to protect the health and well-being of employees in this state, this is a measured response. I have long worried about nanny state intrusions, but with the provable science behind this, it deserves careful consideration."

Kvadas and his family approached Genga for support several years ago. This is the first time the bill has gotten a hearing. He wasn't the only young person to testify for it.

"In school we learn about how smoking affects the lungs. It's not right that children have to be in a car with that," 13-year-old Heather Abdullah of Mansfield said. "Stop the death and illness, and stop the image that is being placed in young people's minds."